You have only to compare it with the 2001 version from Barcelona with Edita Gruberova (issued by Jingo and reviewed in Taipei Times on Nov. 15, 2007). There Gruberova sees off all comers, and the audience’s near-hysteria after the great mad scene is entirely justified. This is bel canto singing as it should be, and as far as DVDs are concerned — and there are several fine CDs of this opera — that version remains the one to beat.
An unusual feature of this New York pair of DVDs is that parts of some scenes are filmed from the side of the stage, showing both singers and, beyond them, the conductor and orchestra. Also unusual, and this time in poor taste, is the use of a clip of Netrebko being interviewed backstage, inserted on the DVD between the second and third acts. The reason for this may be that the performance was relayed live to cinemas around the US, so something was needed to fill in intermission times. But there was no need for it to be placed there in the DVD edition.
For the rest, the sets (by no means new) and costumes are adequate, if conventional. Patrick Summers conducts in a way that’s both firm and neat. And the sound quality is outstanding — even during the big ensembles, details of the orchestral playing can be very clearly heard. But then the sound on the Barcelona set was excellent as well.
This New York version, then, is not a classic performance. I can watch the Gruberova version over and over again, and indeed it’s hard not to. This newer one, by contrast, is svelte but not joyous, suave but not passionate. So I’ll end by giving the product details of the incomparably finer older version: the catalogue number is JDV311072 on Taiwan’s Jingo label.
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